Navajo Nation discusses "Solar Power for All"

Recently when Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly visited Niagra
Falls and listened to the roaring water, it reminded him that water is
power, and power is forever.

“As long as the sun shines there is power, clean power. The wind’s
the same way. As long as the wind blows, it provides power,” Shelly
told a crowd gathered Friday at Navajo Nation Museum for “Bridging the
Gap; Solar Power for All,” moderated by Anna Rondon.

“We’re in dire need for energy and dire need for new technology,”
Shelly said. One possibility is developing a wind farm at Big Boquillas
Ranch, owned by the tribe. “We have enough developers coming to our
doors right now that we can now negotiate with them.” So many
developers, in fact, that there is talk of “weeding out some of these
alternative energy companies and putting a moratorium on it and
selecting two or three for solar and wind power,” he said.

In addition, Shelly said his plan is to have Community Health
Representatives gather the names of their elderly clients who don’t
have electricity and see if the Nation can get funding to supply them
portable power. “If that’s the case, the portable power has to be
manufactured somewhere. These are things that can provide economics and
also jobs,” he said.

Sandra Begay-Campbell of Sandia Lab said the Ramona Band of
Cahuilla Mission Indians, a small landlocked tribe in southern
California, is using a hybrid wind/solar energy system to live totally
off the grid.

Cal Curley, field representative for U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, delivered
a message from the congressman, who was unable to attend. “America’s
energy policy undermines our economy, our security, and our world’s
fragile ecosystem.”

Humans have managed to overwhelm the earth’s carbon cycle,
radically altering the carbon balance that has sustained life on earth
for millennia, he said.

“The result is we are literally frying our earth. Scientists say
that global warming will have the effect of virtually moving New Mexico
300 miles to the south and depositing us in the Sonoran Desert. If that
happens, our way of life won’t just change, it will end.

“Some people claim that we are not yet running out of easily
available oil or that the climate is not changing that quickly,”
according to Udall. “I look at it like this. We are driving toward a
cliff. I don’t want to spend a lot time arguing about how far off that
cliff is. I want to stop hitting the gas pedal.

“The good news is that we have the power to solve both of these
problems. We can make our economy produce high-paying jobs and we can
do it by putting our people to work building a more sustainable energy
economy.” he said.

Dr. James Davis, chief of staff for Navajo Nation Council Lawrence
T. Morgan, said Morgan is working on a plan to do just that. Morgan has
connected with the green jobs group in Flagstaff. “We have a new
project that we’re working on, which tries to bring outside groups to
the Council and allow it to explore possibilities into the future.

“One project that we’re doing currently is regarding that,
exploring the whole notion of energy and green jobs. This is wonderful
because Navajos, traditionally, have been aware of the environment; but
finally we’re marrying concepts with action.” Morgan will be presenting
legislation possibly during winter session.

Eni Begaye of Green Economy Coalition said they are talking about
diversifying and creating green jobs that are low- or non-polluting.
“Essentially what we want to do is create a Navajo Green Economy
Coalition that would allocate funding to organizations or businesses
through an RFP granting process for entrepreneurial efforts, to do
start-ups and get these businesses off the ground and rolling.”

The coalition made up of a multistakeholder group would oversee
allocation of the funds and would work with entities within the Navajo
Nation which are trying to develop wind and solar projects. It also
would establish within each of the five Navajo agencies, offices that
could work with existing community development offices to help
communities come up with those plans.

“To get the funding is only the beginning. The rest of the plan is
helping the communities come up with long-term sustainable employment
sources,” Begaye said. Funding could go to small-scale wind projects,
textile mills that handle wool produced locally, a weaver’s co-op, or a
farmers market, for example.

Begaye said they will be asking the Navajo Nation to put $10 million toward green job investments into the fund.

Gordon Isaac, also of the Coalition, said about eight chapters already have approved supporting resolutions.

Fred White, deputy director for the Division of Natural Resources,
said there is approximately 5,000 megawatts of wind energy power
available within the Navajo Nation. “If developed, the Navajo Nation
could be a major player in energy development in the Southwest and
western United States.” The military is the largest user of electricity
in the United States, according to Begay-Campbell.

At Navajo Technical College, professor Raymond Griego and his
students spent four years building their own 500-watt-per-hour wind
turbine from scratch and braving the elements to erect it.

The wind turbine’s blades are made from 2 by 6s and took an entire
semester to carve. Griego said the turbine works on an alternator
theory, sort of like a car. “The whole idea for this was to attract
people from our community to learn how to build one of these,” he said.

They are now working on a 2.5 killowatt wind turbine with the help
of Terry Battiest of Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, who also
presented information on NTUA’s electricity alternative for Navajo
homes, which includes 640-watt solar and 880-watt wind hybrid systems
for about $95 a month.

“Hybrid,” in this case, means combined wind and solar sources.

David Brunt said Gallup Solar is hoping to collaborate with
communities, elected officials, utilities and industry to bring solar
power to all people in the area. They are looking at two potential
sites: Prewitt and Gamerco. “Someday in the near future our whole
energy base will change,” Brunt said.

Gallup Solar received capital outlay of $45,000 from the New Mexico
Legislature and is putting out an RFP on a partnership. “We’ve talked
with PNM, trying to get them to locate a plant in Gallup,” he said. He
also spoke Friday with Steven Begay of Dine Power Authority in hopes of
partnering with DPA.

“Gallup Solar is not just a utility-scale solar plant. It’s a paradigm shift in people’s thinking,” Brunt said.

Michael Sawyer, president of Global Energy Systems Inc., hopes to
bring commercial-scale solar projects to Native American tribes and
communities such as Gallup. “Pending governmental subsidies through tax
credits we will be beginning the largest installation for Native
American tribes in the United States. ... Our smallest system is 25
killowatts and will power five to eight homes,” he said.

David Melton of Sacred Power Corp. also hopes to bridge the gap
with “Solar Power for All.” Sacred Power built a solar carport at
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque and is now
thinking about solar plug-in chargers for electric vehicles.